Zardari postpones visit to Kabul

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has postponed his visit to Afghanistan because of "bad weather", officials from both countries say.

Mr Zardari had been scheduled for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on ways to "jointly combat terrorism" and to boost trade.

It would have been his first visit to his neighbour since he took the presidency in September.

The growing Islamist insurgency is affecting both countries.

Afghanistan has previously accused Pakistan of not doing enough to prevent cross-border attacks by the Taleban.

Warm welcome expected

Mr Zardari was unable to leave because of poor weather in Islamabad, officials said.

An Afghan presidency statement said Mr Zardari had thanked Mr Karzai for the invitation and that he wished "to visit Afghanistan at an appropriate future time".

No new date has yet been confirmed.

The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says the strained relations between the two countries have eased of late.

Mr Zardari would have expected a warm welcome, with Mr Karzai believing he had found a Pakistani president he could do business with, our correspondent says.

Mr Karzai visited Pakistan in September to attend Mr Zardari's swearing-in ceremony. The two also met during the UN General Assembly in New York in September and again in Istanbul, Turkey, earlier in December.

At that meeting, they agreed to form a joint strategy to fight militant groups operating in their border regions.

The Afghan-Pakistani border is believed to be a safe haven for the Taleban and al-Qaeda militants.

Washington and Kabul say insurgents use the territory to launch attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Islamabad has objected to strikes by Afghan-based US forces against targets on its territory.

Taleban militants have in recent weeks attacked Nato supply convoys and depots with in north-west Pakistan, near the border, destroying supplies bound for foreign troops operating in Afghanistan.